User Comments - bill

Posted on: Comparing Buts: 但 and 却

Interesting that we've evolved to use essentially the same learning techniques and have been members of CPod about the same amount of time (4 years). I do this with all of the lessons in my queue.

Probably not a coincidence ...

Posted on: Going on a Picnic

In this lesson 什么三明治啦，生菜和番茄啦，水果色拉啦，等等 .. It' seems like a very American 野餐.

In this lesson shénme sānmíng la, shēngcàila hé fánqié la, shuǐguǒsèlā la, děngdeng ... In this lesson there's sandwiches, lettuce and tomatoes, fruit salad, etc ... One way of making a list is to say, 什么 x 啦，什么 y 啦, ...

但是为什么没有葡萄酒吗？dànshì wèishénme méiyǒu pútaojiǔ ma? But why isn't there wine?

Posted on: Going on a Picnic

I notice in the dialog that the popup for 生菜 says "to give birth" rather than "lettuce" or "romaine lettuce." It's in this sentence:

你们看，我带了火腿，生菜和番 茄

Posted on: Separable Verbs

你说明中文说明得很好 ...

Posted on: Separable Verbs

I just listened to this lesson and yes, Connie gave some incorrect examples as examples of how NOT to use these constructs. She then followed them with the correct examples.

A nice way to teach. Connie will make a great 妈妈！

Posted on: Separable Verbs

Note that I did not say "Grammar is not useful." What I did say is that "Grammar helps us tune our language skills." We all as native speakers of English took classes in English Grammar, and they were superlative. I happened to excel in these grammar classes, and have read a couple of advanced books on French grammar in French of course.

My point was and still is that we are well equipped I think genetically to learn languages and the best approach to first learn to listen and speak, next learn to read and write, and finally to dive into grammar. This makes us more spontaneous as listeners and speakers.

How did I immerse myself while not in France? I have many French friends here in the states and we spoke all of the time. They happily corrected my errors in French in French. I read 100's of French novels beginning with elementary school books and then proceeded up to the best of authors and poets. I always had my "Petit Robert" handy. That's an excellent French dictionary. I listened exclusively to French popular music in my car, and now that's changed to Mandarin by the way. Slowly but surely everything clarified.

Finally, I traveled to France both on business and for pleasure and insisted that everyone spoke French. My wife and I have been to France more than 40 times, or about a year and one half of total visits in small pieces.

This was an experiment of one person. That is correct. It took patience and diligence. And above all, 我喜欢学中文，但是我总是慢慢来 (-: I do this for the pure pleasure of the learning experience.

Posted on: Separable Verbs

I of course also agree with you John. So, how can I agree with "BULLTURD" too. I think you've already heard my take on learning languages and I'll be brief.

First, ChinesePod does an amazing job teaching Mandarin given the medium. There is not another Internet site in this world that begins to compare with the quality of the teachers, and the methodology.

But, given the opportunity, I am certain that learning to speak before one learns to either read or write, i. e., learning a language by immersion, is the most successful way to become a *spontaneous listener/speaker,* that is to day, someone who speaks without hesitation. Our language learning minds know how to generate grammatical rules and do it by trial and error. Anyone with children knows this to be true.

I've personally experienced this myself since I learned Spanish the traditional way: 4 years of high school followed by 3 semesters at the University of California at Berkeley. I could never speak to my own personal satisfaction nor understand the evening news or a soccer broadcast in Spanish.

I learned French by immersion and am 100% fluent: Movies, news, sports, etc... I also read and write French. I did learn French grammar on my own by reading French grammar books in French. I never used a French-English dictionary. Purely learned French in French. Right, I've many French friends locally.

Grammar helps us all tune our language skills, and to be honest, if we could learn Mandarin grammar in Mandarin, that would be so cool. Alas, we cannot.

That's the short version (-:

Posted on: Separable Verbs

juòmiàn? You mean jiànmiàn ... Hmm... All of these examples are correct in the PDF file. 我应该听这节课.

Posted on: Separable Verbs

我同意你的主意。

Posted on: Smelly Cheese

This reminds me of my first trip to France in 1990. We were visiting friends in Saint Malo and they brought out a cheese that looked and smelled like it was lost in the 垃圾箱 （lājīxiāng or garbage can) for a few weeks. Well, I too felt like excusing myself from the table. Our host then went to his wine cellar and returned with a bottle of 1971 Grand-Echezeaux.

Well, I'm definitely glad I stayed to enjoy this unbelievable combination of wine and cheese. Needless to say my wife and I have returned to France more than 40 times since then.